Breakdown Sports

Talk about Power O football and how it's one of the most versatile plays in the playbook. Can block any front. Lots of figures and examples. Apparently very applicable to Wisconsin this year, maybe more than Michigan even. LINK

Over at Maize n Brew I start to look at blocking the Power O run play. It takes many calls and changes with the defensive front, this is a primer to set you up for tomorrow, when we get into more depth about blocking the play. This play is a favorite of Michigan, but almost any team with man blocking plays will utilize Power O at some point or another. LINK

Over at Maize n Brew I discuss how a U-back can be utilized to add variety to the run game. I also briefly get into how a U-back can be moved to manipulate the defensive scheme, allowing for the offense to exploit weaknesses in the defense. LINK

Over at MGoBlog, I have a post detailing the progression of a QB (in this case Devin Gardner) and detail how a combination of game speed slowing down and footwork dictating reads can greatly improve QB play. LINK Also of note for additional viewing:

I'll be writing a mini-series about how Michigan will plan to use Y-TEs, FBs, and U-back to their advantage, both in the run game and pass game. Part one is a primer on the run game. You can check it out at the link. LINK

Omissions Wisconsin Commit D.J. Gillins supposedly used to have about a 13 minute highlight tape. Unfortunately that got taken down and no subsequent highlight film has been uploaded onto the internet. Therefore, he goes unranked here, though he sounds like a good player. Iowa also does not currently have a QB commit for the '14 class from my understanding. Baseline Rank Chris Durkin - Michigan St - 6.5 Will Ulmer - Maryland - 6.25 Zack Darlington - Nebraska - 6.25 Wilton Speight - Michigan - 6.0 Michael O'Connor - Penn St - 6.0 Clayton Thorson - Northwestern - 6.0 Tyler Wiegers - Rutgers - 6.0 David Blough - Purdue - 5.5 Chayce Crouch - Illinois - 5.5 Stephen Collier - Ohio State - 5.0 Dimonic McKinzy - Minnesota - 4.75 Alex Diamont - Indiana - 4.25 Ceiling Rank Chris Durkin - Michigan St - 8.25 Wilton Speight - Michigan - 8.25 David Blough - Purdue - 8.25 Michael O'Connor - Penn St - 8.0 Will Ulmer - Maryland - 8.0 Clayton

Ceiling: 8               Ranking: 6                  Floor: 3.75 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Detroit Country Day (Franklin, MI) Size: 6'3" - 200 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0.8697 ,  #25 Pro #476 Overall 247 : 3 Star, 83, #55 Pro Rivals : 4 Star, 5.8, #7 Pro, #180 Overall Scout : 3 Star, #35 QB Favorites:  Rutgers (Commit) Others:  Iowa, CMU, WMU Strengths Gets the ball deep and is a great passer on throws 10+ yards (particularly post patterns) Very comfortable throwing on the run, particularly moving right Keeps his eyes down field and gets the ball into the hands of his play makers. Can really push the ball deep by having good arm strength and a nice flight trajectory. Ball drops in pretty well and he allows for his WRs to make plays. Good throwing power on intermediate routes, gets good height and zip on his post and dig type routes, really steps in and fires it well. Stands tall in the pocket to see the field. When plays breakdown he

Ceiling: 8               Ranking: 6.25                  Floor: 4.5 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: St John's College (Washington, DC) Size: 6'0" - 190 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0.8747 ,  #10 Dual, #417 Overall 247 : 4 Star, 90, #15 Dual. #238 Overall Rivals : 3 Star, 5.7 Scout : 3 Star, #37 QB Favorites:  Maryland (Commit) Others: Arizona, Arizona St, Arkansas, Boston College, Cincinnati, Florida St, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Miami (FL), Michigan St, NC State, Ohio St, Rutgers, Virginia, Virginia Tech, West Virginia, Wisconsin Strengths Good trajectory to throw into the seam or over opening between CBs and safeties in a cover 2 Fast and quick runner that can take it for a TD at any time Gets low behind the LOS and sets up blockers well to get into the second level Decent throwing strength. While he struggles to push the ball deep and doesn't have pure arm strength, he can wind up and use his body to get the ball over top of defenses tr

Ceiling: 8.25                 Ranking: 5.5                  Floor: 3 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Creekview (Charrollton, TX) Size: 6'1" - 185 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0.8498 ,  #40 Pro, #821 Overall 247 : 4 Star, 90, #15 Pro. #238 Overall Rivals : 3 Star, 5.5 Scout : 3 Star, #38 QB Favorites:  Purdue (Commit) Strengths Very good quick release with great arm and wrist snap for good ball velocity Capable of putting the ball over top of the defense and drop the ball in a barrel with little wasted hang time Moves well within the pocket and has good footwork at this stage Very good at stepping up into the pocket and escaping out of the natural lanes that form by pass rushers getting up field. Little wasted movement going from read to throwing motion; ball doesn't extend much behind helmet and is snapped forward quickly at a height just about at the top of his helmet. Really has a quick arm snap and gets a lot of good spin on the ball. Fin

Ceiling: 8                 Ranking: 6                  Floor: 3.5 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) Size: 6'5" - 215 lbs. Composite: 4 Star, 0.9020 ,  #13 Pro, #251 Overall 247 : 4 Star, 90, #16 Pro Rivals : 4 Star, 5.8, #8 Pro, #188 Overall Scout : 3 Star, #28 QB Favorites: Penn State (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Michigan State, Miss St, Mizzou, Rutgers, South Florida, Vandy Strengths Very quick, compact release leaves little time for defenders to anticipate throws Capable of switching up trajectories with good touch Size allows him to see field and go through progressions well at this stage Has a nice, quick, compact release, finishes with his arm releasing to throwing hand side. Capable of switching up ball flight trajectory and applying touch for different types of throws. Has great height and size for a QB. Is able to see the field very well and scan through progress; should be able to stand up to hits at

Ceiling: 7                 Ranking: 5                  Floor: 3 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Lee County (Leesburg, GA) Size: 6'4" - 210 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0.8461 ,  #24 Dual, #891 Overall 247 : 3 Star, 89, #10 Dual Rivals : 2 Star, 5.4, Pro Scout : 3 Star, #57 QB Favorites:  Ohio State (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Boston College, Cincinnati, Wake Forest Strengths Great size for the QB position Shows flashes of potential when technique improves Strong runner that breaks arm tackles and keeps legs moving on contact Great size for a QB. Sees the field pretty well. Has the capability of putting some air under the ball and going deep. Shows flashes of potential. When he gets proper technique he can deliver the ball better and more on a line. When he delivers the ball over top of his shoulder and finishes toward the target and combines some lower body torque he can add ball velocity. Even flashes it at times when moving the pocket.

Ceiling: 8                 Ranking: 6                  Floor: 3.75 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Wheaton North (Wheaton, IL) Size: 6'4" - 195 lbs. Composite: 4 Star, 0.8973 ,  #15 Pro, #271 Overall 247 : 4 Star, 92, #11 Pro Rivals : 4 Star, 5.8, #7 Pro Scout : 3 Star, #43 Pro Favorites:  Northwestern (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Boston College, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, NC State, Ole Miss, Penn St, Syracuse Strengths Strong arm on short passes, capable of firing ball in quickly Quick release and good at moving the pocket Underrated athlete that can keep defenses honest with his feet Strong arm, can really rocket a ball in there. Displays the ability to put some air on the ball and throw over top of defenses. Good height. Has a release point above his helmet, while still not with full arm extension, still gives him a high release point and helps improve his ball velocity. Gains good depth on his first drop step, does a good

Ceiling: 8.25                 Ranking: 6.5                  Floor: 5 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Ursuline (Youngstown, OH) Size: 6'4" - 230 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0. 8877,  #16 Pro, #319 Overall 247 : 4 Star, 90, #17 Pro Rivals : 3 Star, 5.7, #15 Pro Scout : 4 Star, #14 Pro, #239 Overall Favorites:  Michigan State (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Cal, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern Strengths Ball velocity and rotation, putting the ball on receivers fast Very good running ability Capable of threatening every area of the field with arm Has the ability to make throws to every part of the field. Has good pure arm strength and releases the ball with good arm and wrist snap, giving the ball pretty good velocity and puts it on the receiver fast. Quick release allows him to get the ball out of his hands fast. Capable of putting the ball in all areas of the field and should be able to develop his mechanics below his waist to be better adept at

Ceiling: 7.5                 Ranking: 6.25                  Floor: 3.5 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Apopka (Apopka, FL) Size: 6'2" - 205 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0. 8737,  #11 Dual, #429 Overall 247 : 3 Star, 89, #8 Dual Rivals : 3 Star, 5.7, #10 Dual Scout : 3 Star, #32 Dual Favorites:  Nebraska (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Arizona, Boston College, Minnesota, Miss St, NC State, Ohio St, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, West Virginia Strengths Really zips the ball through the air to put it on receivers quickly in short passing game Gets ball out quickly in pass game to his play makers Effective running QB, makes good reads and sets up blocks well Really snaps the ball with his wrist to let it cut through the air. Ball doesn't spend much time in the air, and he can hit the receivers in windows in the short zones. Gets the ball out quickly, little wasted movement on slants and hitches and releases from the wing/TE/backfield. Good grasp

Ceiling: 6.75                  Ranking: 4.75                  Floor: 3 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Wyandotte (Kansas City, KS) School: Ursuline (Youngstown, OH) Size: 6'0" - 210 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0. 8547,  #19 Dual, #716 Overall 247 : 3 Star, 88, #14 Dual Rivals : 3 Star, 5.6, ATH Scout : 3 Star, #27 Dual Favorites:  Minnesota (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska Strengths Able to drop the ball into various levels of the defense Very good escapability in the pocket Physical player on defense Gets relatively good rotation on the ball so that it doesn't hang in the air much. Can drop the ball in between levels of the defense with little extra hang time because of this. When he does step into throws and get a higher release he is capable of hitting digs and some shorter posts with good ball velocity, putting it on the receivers relatively quickly, but he is very inconsistent in this area.  Does

Ceiling: 8.25                 Ranking: 6                  Floor: 4 ( Ranking Explanation ) School: Collegiate (Richmond, VA) Size: 6'6" - 220 lbs. Composite: 3 Star, 0. 8800,  #20 Pro, #369 Overall 247 : 3 Star, 86, #34 Pro Rivals : 3 Star, 5.7, #21 Pro Scout : 3 Star, #22 Pro Favorites:  Michigan (Commit) Other Notable Offers:  Miami (FL), NC State Strengths Height Good Arm and body rotation in combination to push the ball deep Effectively alters ball trajectory to fit the ball in at different levels Height allows him to see the field well, and despite lower release point, can still snap his arm down and have a decent release height to get good spin on the ball. Very good at rolling the pocket and throwing on the run, does a good job of getting his front hip and shoulder down field so he can get good body rotation into his throws as long as he isn't pressured. With his mix of body rotation and arm strength he can delive